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#11 PORTLAND PILOTS (13-2-1, 5-1-0 WCC)
at SAINT MARY'S GAELS (6-10-0, 2-3-0 WCC)
Date: Thursday, October 31, 2013
Location: Moraga, Calif.
Kick-off: 2:30 p.m.
Pitch: Saint Mary's Stadium (5,000)
Live Video ($$$): SMCGaels.com
Stats: SMCGaels.com
 
POR vs. SMC
Overall Series: 23-5-1
Here: 10-2-0
There: 11-3-1
Neutral: 2-0-0
Last: POR 3, @SMC 0 (Oct. 21, 2012)
 
THIS WEEK
• The No. 11 Pilots play their final road game of the regular season this week when they travel to Moraga, Calif., for a West Coast Conference match against the Saint Mary's Gaels at Saint Mary's Stadium on Thursday at 2:30 p.m.
 
ABOUT THE PILOTS
• The Pilots have won 10 of their last 11 games after suffering their first shutout of the season against No. 24 BYU last Saturday night; the Cougars scored in the 78th minute en route to the win, while Portland claimed a 10-9 advantage in shots.
• BYU snapped a 10-game winning streak for the Pilots, which was the longest for the program since also winning 10 in a row in 2010.
• The crowd of 5,011 fans at the BYU game marked the sixth largest crowd in UP women's soccer history at Merlo Field; a school record of 1,768 students were also present.
• Before BYU's goal on Saturday, the only two goals the Pilots had given up during conference play came on a PK (at Pepperdine) and an own-goal (vs. Gonzaga).
• Pepperdine's goal on Oct. 13 ended a string of 367 consecutive minutes played without allowing a goal for the Pilots.
• WCC Player of the Month for September Micaela Capelle recently had a streak of scoring at least one goal in five straight games (Sept. 15 - Oct. 5), while recording at least one point in seven straight matches (Sept. 8 - Oct. 5).
• Portland is the No. 9 ranked team in the Top Drawer Soccer Poll, is 11th in the NSCAA Coaches' Poll, 16th in the Soccer America poll and 18th in the NCAA's RPI.
• Portland is tied for the league lead in assists (28) and is second in goals (31), points (90) and  goals against average (0.81).
• Individually Emily Sippel is second in assists, while Amanda Frisbie and Ellen Parker are tied for second in game-winners (4).
• Amanda Frisbie became the second straight Pilot to earn WCC Player of the Week honors on Sept. 30; Frisbie earned the accolade by scoring three goals, two game-winners, while adding an assist during Portland's wins over Wyoming (4-2) and UW (3-0).
• Previously Ellen Parker nabbed the league's top weekly honor by notching the game-winner and an assist during a 2-1 win at San Diego State on Sept. 22.
• Nine (Boon, Capelle, Evans, Frisbie, Hall, La Prevotte, Parker, Sippel, Wetherington) different Pilots have scored a goal this season, led by Capelle with eight.
• Amanda Frisbie and Michelle Cruz were both selected to the WCC's preseason all-conference team.
• Frisbie was also named to the MAC Hermann Trophy Watch list; Frisbie, who made the switch to defense this season, led the conference last year with 12 goals and was tied for the league-high with nine assists.
• UP's freshman class was ranked No. 5 in the country and features national team players Allison Wetherington (US U-20's), Ellie Boon (US U-18's) and Danica Evans (US U-18's).
• The Pilots have led the nation in attendance for eight straight years.
• The Pilots have advanced to at least the second round of the NCAA playoffs for 13 straight seasons and have reached the playoffs during 20 of the last 21 years.
• Portland won the NCAA National Championship in 2002 and in 2005.
• Head coach Garrett Smith, who is in his 11th year at the helm of the Pilots, has been named the WCC Coach of the Year five times.
 
STEP UP TO THE MIC
• Micaela Capelle is enjoying her senior season thus far, leading the team in goals (8) assists (4) and points (20).
• Capelle recently had strings of five straight games with a goal and seven straight matches, which were both snapped during a 2-0 win at LMU on Oct. 11.
• The consecutive points stretch was the program's longest such streak since Danielle Foxhoven ended the 2010 season with a string of seven straight games with a point.
• The native of Gresham, Ore., was named the WCC's Player of the Month for September after opening the year with seven goals in 10 games.
 
THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT
• The UP freshmen wasted little time getting acclimated to collegiate soccer after coming to The Bluff as the No. 5 ranked recruiting class in the nation.
• Danica Evans, a forward, and Ariel Viera, a defender, have started all 16 matches thus far, while midfielder Parkes Kendrick has made 14 starts.
• Midfielder Allison Wetherington, who missed a couple of early games due to an injury, has registered three goals and three assists so far, while Evans also has two goals and four assists.
• Ellie Boon was inserted into the starting line-up recently at left back, and she has a goal and an assist on the season.
 
THE SWITCH
• Portland senior Amanda Frisbie, who has played forward for the past three seasons, made the switch to the backline this year and has already helped the Pilots post six shutouts, which leads the WCC
• Frisbie, who has started 12 of 13 games at center back, is still second on the team with six goals and she's second in the conference with four game-winners.
• The native of McKinney, Texas, was named the WCC's Player of the Week on Sept. 30 and she was named to the initial watch list for the MAC Hermann Trophy, which is the highest individual award in college soccer.
• UP has claimed three MAC Hermann Trophies in program history, with Shannon MacMillan (1995) and Christine Sinclair (2004 & 2005) each nabbing collegiate soccer's top honor.
 
#MERLOMADNESS
• The Pilots packed 5,011 fans into Merlo Field last Saturday night to register the sixth largest crowd in UP women's soccer history.
• The packed house also featured a school-record 1,768 students, which topped the previous student attendance record of 1,700, set during the Marquette game on Aug. 23.
• UP has led the nation in attendance for eight straight years after averaging 3,313 fans per game at Merlo Field last fall.
• Portland has topped the 30,000-fan plateau eight straight years as well, reaching 43,064 total fans last season.
• The Pilots have exceeded the 40,000-fan mark four times (2008-10, 2013), which is the most in the country.
 
PILOTS TEAM UP WITH THE RONALD McDONALD HOUSE
• The Pilots are auctioning off special warm-up jerseys (shown below) this season with all proceeds going to the Ronald McDonald House.
• Each jersey features a player's number and the team will wear them before every home game all season long.
• Fans can make bids on the jerseys at the fan information booth near the main entrance to Merlo Field during home games, and the winners will be announced following the San Francisco game, on Saturday Nov. 9.
• You can also place bids by emailing Jon Brooks at brooksj@up.edu.
 

 
THE BLOGGER(s)  
• Lorielle McCluskie has taken on blogging duties for Portland, so be sure to bookmark PortlandPilots.com/LoBlog to follow Lo and the Pilots all season long.
• Meanwhile, Erin Dees is posting a biweekly blog on espnW.com.